Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Specter Fights for Base Before Justices

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and the U.S. government squared off before the Supreme Court on whether federal judges can review government decisions to close military bases it considers obsolete. Specter argued that a judge should be allowed to consider a suit on the closure of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. He contended that hearings on the shipyard should be reopened because Navy leaders “fraudulently withheld” reports showing the long-term value of the base from the panel that selected which facilities would be closed. But Solicitor General Drew Days said that if one member of Congress can engage in “cherry picking” to protect his local base, the shutdown plan would fall apart.